January 3, 2024

Jeff Taylor '84 completed a United States tour with music icon Van Morrison. Taylor played baritone/tenor/soprano saxophones, clarinet, flute, guitars, and background vocals. The band played 14 concerts across 6 different cities and also featured guest artists, including Van’s daughter Shana, Taj Mahal, Candy Dulfer, and a gospel vocal sextet.

"We performed songs from his most recent album Moving On Skiffle but kept adding his hits (catalog tunes), sometimes within the half hour before showtime!" said Taylor. "It was a challenge to switch to multiple instruments with very little time between songs, but Van was in great spirits with each show and we can all relax a bit now!"

With the skills Taylor learned at Bennington, he also pursued a career in information technology, got certified from Microsoft in their early days, and maintained Microsoft technologies throughout the rest of his career, while also playing music at every opportunity. He started a small business called PC Guru, available in several different states, and played music in evenings.

With Taylor's recent retirement from tech, he went back into music full-time, and then joined Van Morrison‘s band for his 2023/2024 US tour. Taylor played saxophone, flute, clarinet, background vocals, and guitar with this nine-piece ensemble.

In addition to his musical pursuits, Taylor also trademarked a wine pairing with live music business to offer a complete sensory experience to those with a passion for fine wine and great music across multiple genres.

"Bennington provided an approach that carried no borders in the pursuit of making excellent music," said Taylor. "The College provided a wide variety of opportunities for learning and applying my knowledge on my instruments. It also gave me a good business sense of the importance of a professional attitude at all performance opportunities."

"In my experience, I would encourage young artists beginning their path at Bennington to take every opportunity that the institution makes available to them in order to better equip themselves for the world at large," continued Taylor. "This is, it seems to me, the best advice for an ever-changing landscape in the world of music performance economies."